Thursday, December 31, 2009

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

When you go to the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness.

Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. And each day has a different color twist tie. Even the ones with plastic clips have a different color.

So today being Wednesday the freshest is green not yellow, which has been on the shelf since last Saturday.

The colors go alphabetically blue to yellow, easy to remember. Now I find myself searching the bread for the freshest.......I can be heard saying blue, green, red...LOL Bread doesn't keep well for me. How do you store yours? Breadbox or just in pantry? Does anything really make it last a little longer? I love Mrs. Baird's products, all so good. Her brown and serve rolls are the best I have found, actually have a yeast flavor!

This has been another rainy stay at home day so I cleaned out all of my kitchen cabinets and drawers!!! Talk about a mess.....they were.....I am so proud to have that project completed. Out of date items...gone. Ragged dish cloths....gone. Half of the knives in my "junk" drawer....not gone but moved to a box in storage room (why, I don't know) but anyway you can open the drawer, safely now! If I could have a couple more of these days I think I could get this place in shape! Well maybe close anyway....ha.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

by Jonathan Crow · December 22, 2009 As we do every year, we tallied up the most popular movie trailers of '09, according to video streaming numbers. And it proved to be a big year: the two most popular videos each nabbed over 20 million views. By and large, the top trailers of the year were mostly box-office behemoths, featuring killer robots, sparkly vampires, and airborne senior citizens. One trailer, however, was not for a blockbuster even though it did star Debbie Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas. We listed the top ten trailers of the year below. See if you can figure out which flick of the bunch wasn't a big hit.

It is official...I am out of touch (nice way of saying old) with the movie industry if these are the trailers that I should be interested in.....#10, UP is the only one I would consider watching...I have heard it is a good movie. Give me a drama or love story anyday; and I don't think New Moon falls into that category (for me anyway)

I don't even know which movie Debbie Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas were in..guess I should have done my homework before this post!

Monday, December 28, 2009

I look forward to having lots of leftover ham.....only one thing to do with it....make beans...and I got a Cuisinart pot from my daughter for Christmas. I have wanted one of these for ages...what a great gift!

I let them simmer for 2 - 3 hours and they were just perfect. Can't beat cast iron cooking! I can't wait to make soup and chili in it!

And you cannot have ham and beans without.....fried potatoes and cornbread...Did someone say something about diet??? Surely not! It's not time for that word yet, it's still 2009! We'll discuss that next week!

I also got this delicious smelling candle for Christmas. I don't think I will have to light it, it smells so good! If you ever see Swan Creek Candles and they have the Pumpkin Vanilla scent, you must have one...you just must!

Have a good evening all! I'm still in the movie mode, today I watched Because I Said So and now I'm off to watch Juno!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Just a little motivation to start the process of taking the decorations down!!!

I have to admit I do not like packing it all up and storing it for another year....

I am proud when this project is done. To make it enjoyable I watch old movies....today it has been; Forget Paris (haven't seen this one in years), then The Scent of A Woman, (had to sit down for the last hour....love it)

The scent of the turkey boiling is adding to the pleasure........Do you boil the turkey carcass? Sounds gross but it makes wonderful broth for the future. Today I am going to make soup, instead of freezing it.

Christmas was such a blessing...having everyone together is always so much fun.

Having a new addition to the family makes Christmas even more special! She brought joy to all of us.

There were times that it seemed as though she was thinking....oh my, won't these people please be quiet and let me sleep?

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday week and I look forward to hearing all about it.

Friday, December 18, 2009

What fun to meet blogger friends in person! We had an instant connection to Noni and Amanda with so much in common. We both have our sweet new grandchildren and live hours away from them. Both Moms are experiencing separation anxiety by returning to work. And yes, we all starting blogging around the same time and somehow found each other......small world. We have big plans for Lila and Alex in the future/ha

Noni and Alex walked the mall the Lila and I one morning and we had so much fun looking and talking. I wish we could have spent many more hours together but nap time arrived.

Lila's favorite time of the day is when Momma and Daddy get home. Her little face just lights up when she sees them. (As do Mom and Dad's)

This little girl is the best Christmas present of 2009!

So now it is Friday, week coming to a close, and we are staying in and relaxing all day....

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Lila and I made a trial run at shopping alone and our first stop was Super Target!!! I wish we had them in Arkansas....but I am probably much better off not having one. They just have so much to look at and BUY!! I tried not to put the Pretzel Dips in the buggy but just couldn't resist. They are sooo good and very addictive!

When I get the pictures uploaded on the computer, I will show you what sweet fellow bloggers we met, had dinner with and today I shopped with! Hope to share it all with you tomorrow.... Gosh I cannot believe it is Thursday already! Time flies way too fast when I am with Lila!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Legend of the Candy Cane

Look at the Candy Cane What do you see? Stripes that are red Like the blood shed for me White is for my Savior Who's sinless and pure! "J" is for Jesus, My Lord, that's for sure! Turn it around And a staff you will see Jesus my shepherd Was born for Me!

Many years ago, a candy maker wanted to make a candy at Christmas time that would serve as a witness to his Christian faith. He wanted to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus. He began with a stick of pure white hard candy; white to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus; hard to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the Church; firmness to represent the promise of God. The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. He thought it could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd, with which he reached down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life. Unfortunately, the candy became known as a candy cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the true meaning is still there for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Author Unknown

Sunday, December 13, 2009

What a busy, busy weekend! Finished wrapping presents, cleaned house, laundry done, menu planned for Christmas, packed.....yes, I am going to have so much fun this week...bet you can guess in at least two guesses what I will be doing! I'll check in soon and see if you figured it out!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

I love good jerky! I have tried, failed, tried, failed and just gave up. Last weekend a friend of my husband came over and helped him cut up the deer he recently killed. He makes wonderful jerky and I cornered him and got his recipe and cooking time. The cooking time and the temperature I was using was Wrong. My Nesco Food Dehydrator & Jerky Maker said meats should be dried at 155 deg for 4 to 15 hours. Hello, could you be a little more specific on the time needed. I was tasting every few minutes and just could not tell if it was done, mainly because HOW do you tell if jerky is done???? Now most people use the oven and cook overnight or about 15 hours at the lowest temperature. You can dry much more in the oven but electric ovens won't go low enough so I am back to the dehydrator and forced to divide it into several batches.

MarinadeDehydratorVoila

I am still cooking 10 sticks of summer sausage. I put them on 170 deg (per box of seasoning) at 7 AM and still not 165 deg. internal temp. per meat thermometer....It's now 3:30 and internal temp. is 150 deg. This takes time!!!!

Now let's talk about the smell/odor in my house! I put the jerky in dehydrator yesterday 3 PM and cooked until this morning...that means "odor" ALL night long! I didn't know if I was hungry or sick/ha I got up at 3 and turned on the vent fan on stove and that helped some but folks I have second batch going now and another one waiting. Might take awhile for me to eat any of it, I'm full just smelling it!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Yes, I am spoiled but let me tell you my story. I walked into this yard four years ago and was greeted with a kind word, a tummy rub and I think it was a rib bone, yes, I know it was a rib bone. The next day I had a nice soft bed on the back porch by the door, big bowl of water and another rib bone...I decided to stay and now I have a bed in the house and Nanny moves it in the sun for me....I love the sun!

"That's my girl. And I don't know where she came from but I am so happy that she wandered into my yard"

Sunday, December 6, 2009

I do love to purchase a Christmas ornament when I go somewhere. Some of my favorites; Tower Bridge, London; Santa, Eiffel Tower; Santa, Maui; and Star Fish, Florida....

I'm glad tree is up and presents are wrapped. I feel like I can relax when these two projects are done.. Menus to plan, grocery lists to make. This year has gone by so fast that it is unbelievable. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were worried about 2000? How can we slow this down?

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I am a lotion addict and I admit it! I have a lotion or cream for every body part. After my bath It's Jergens all over.. Only original for me....Next come the feet, very important to take care of the feet....Have you tried Nordic Care Foot Care Cream? It works! I use to scrap with that awful razor blade thing and this cream softens heels eliminating razor....After cleansing face I get out the Olay products. Very good stuff! In the morning use Regenerist Eye Lifting Serum, under eyes. It feels so good.And at night Definity Eye Illuminator under the eyes! Very creamy and refreshing..Next comes all over face moisturizer....Morning, Estee Lauder Day Wear PlusNights I just use whatever is handy, cause I am usually sleepy at this point.Olay Total Effects, visible anti-aging vitamin complex (sounds good to me)EB5 Facial Cream (JC Penney had a special on this one)Kate Somerville Deep Tissue Repair (she didn't have a special, and sends me way too many e-mails)Now for the special Lotion guaranteed to make you very sleepy,,Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Lavender Vanilla Sleep Soothing Body Lotion! If you haven't tried this one, hurry down to B&BW and buy a big bottle or a little $5. one to start with!!!!

These are just my must have lotions and creams (I have many more), I get off track and buy anything that smells good and therefore have drawers and cabinets of lotions; you should see my suntan collection!

What are your favorite ones? Am I missing a good one? I think I need therapy....not aroma, the other kind/ha

Monday, November 30, 2009

My husband is tracking a "Big Buck" and today he invited me to go along......Wants me to shoot the big buck....ok I'm game, so I leave work and head home to get ready. As I was driving down the road, almost to our drive:These two sweet deer are grazing along side of the road and look up at me as if to say, "hi there". These deer are like pets since we feed them all fall, therefore we drive miles away to hunt nonpets (don't think that is a word but you get the point)

Time passes, we drive to the stand and the view is actually very pretty

Husband is very intent on spotting the big boy!

More time passes and I am bored so I start taking pictures of the lady bug crawling by me...the stand is full of lady bugs....finding a place for the winter I guess....Just before sunset the deer appeared from the weeds and headed straight for the corn feeder. There was 10 at sunset....

It was such a pretty sight and I "shot" them with my Canon Power Shot/haTomorrow if I am invited I will shoot them with my Rebel and Zoom Lens/haI do love the outdoors!

About Me

Mother of two beautiful daughters, grandmother of two granddaughters and two grandsons. I love life and look forward to each new day.
I love to travel and see the world, OR sit in my chair in the sun and read a good book!
Life is truly good!